How Developers Discovered Tampa’s ‘Best-Kept Secret’

TAMPA, Fla. — When Paul Guzzo first set eyes on Tampa in 1999, he was not impressed.

“I thought, this isn’t a city — it’s a ghost town,” said Mr. Guzzo, a native of Trenton who, like so many other Northerners, had moved south for the balmy weather. “It was like a small town looking to become a big city.”